Raul Jimenez and Rayan Ait-Nouri fighting for first-team spot – Julen Lopetegui

Wolves boss Julen Lopetegui says Raul Jimenez and Rayan Ait-Nouri are both working hard to get back into the matchday squad.

Striker Jimenez was not involved in last week’s win over Chelsea while Ait-Nouri has not been part of the squad since last month’s defeat at Newcastle.

Lopetegui says both men are giving it their all to win back favour and be involved against Brentford this weekend.

“Raul is one player more. He’s trying to recover his space,” the Spaniard told the club’s official website.

“This is the aim for any player, the commitment to fight in their daily work here, trying to find a space and he’s trying for sure.

“Rayan the same, he’s one player, he has played here and he’s fighting inside and other team-mates are trying to do the same. Our job is to choose and their work is to fight to win the space in the team. Of course, it’s good always for the team.”

Wolves have an excellent record of not losing when going ahead since the Spaniard took over.

He said: “I always want to score. I’ve repeated a lot of times, but it’s key not to suffer a goal, to work with a clean sheet is important and after try to score in different ways.

“We are not going to change anything, we are going to do the same, to compete, to be able to overcome the kind of opponent we have every day and this day we have a very hard opponent. They (Brentford) are going to demand a lot of strength from our team, so we have to be ready.

“Always it’s a good thing to score, but we scored first against Fulham and drew.

“If you score, you have to be ready to score a second goal and if you suffer a goal, you have to be ready to overcome the moment and put the focus on the present. You have to be ready to do your best in each moment.”